Hydrocarbon-burner.



Patented Sept. 2, I902.

w. N. BEST.

HYDRDCARBON BURNER.

(Application filed Apr. 17, 1901.)

(No Model.)

TAS

WILLIAM NEWTON BEST, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- I-IALF TO WILLIAM ADELBERT COOPER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

HYDROCARBON-BURNER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 708,453, dated September 2, 1902.

Application filed Apri11'7, 1901. $erial No. 66,312. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beit known that LWILLIAM NEWTON Bns'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful I-Iydrocarbon-Burner, of which the following is a specification.

One of the objects of my invention is to produce means for burning crude petroleum and other heavy hydrocarbons, consuming all the combustible elements contained in the oil.

My invention is designed for use on locomotives and for other boilers and for other uses to which hyd rocarbon-burners can be put; and it includes a specific apparatus for atomizing the hydrocarbon oil by use of either steam or air.

In burning heavy hydrocarbon oils, especially those having an asphaltum base, much difficulty is experienced from the clogging of the burner by the impurities, which become solidified over the atomizer. A further clogging of the atomizer occurs from scale deposits from the steam.

An object of this invention is to avoid such clogging from the oil and to enable the burner to be readily and easily freed from all scale or other obstructions produced from the steam and to do this without entering the fire-box and without a minutes delay.

It is desirable in order to avoid the difiiculties above enumerated that the oil be brought to ignition as quickly as possible after it enters the fire-box in order that the whole fire-box will be filled with flame and heated throughout, so that the hydrogen gas will be readily ignited and there will be no direct blast upon any of the parts of the boiler to be heated and so that the heat will not be concentrated upon any of the beads of the boiler. In carrying out my invention it therefore becomes necessary to provide an atomizer which will put into the fire-box an extremely thin lilm of finely-divided oil-vapor, and this I accomplish by a specific form of atomizer, which may be made in various ways and with various forms of oil-outlet. In

the drawings I have shown the oil-outlet straight across the face of the burner; but it is to be understood that the oil-outlet may be curved or bent at an angle.

Figure I is a perspective view of the atom-f izing appliance detached. Fig. II is a plan view of the atomizing appliance detached. Fig. III is a sectional elevation of the atomizer on line III III, Fig. II. The drain-valve is also sectioned in this View.

a indicates the body of the atomizing appliance, which is furnished with two superposed chambers b e for oil and expansive fluid, respectively, one of the chambers being furnished with an inlet cl and a nozzle e for oil and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet f and a nozzle g for an expansive fluid, such as air or steam. The oil-nozzle e is furnished with a lip it beyond the mouth of the fluid-discharging nozzle g, and said fluiddischarging nozzle is arranged to direct the expansive fluid across the outlet of the oilnozzle and across said lip h. The planes of the outlets g and c of said chambers are in common parallel with one plane. They are preferably in diiferent planes which lie close to each other, as shown in Fig. I. Preferably the oil-outlet is in a plane which is slightly lower than the outlet 9 from the expansivefiuid chamber; but the burner can be operated with either side uppermost. The most satisfactory results are obtained when the burner is used in the position shown in Fig. III of the drawings, in which the oil-chamber is undermost and the lip h is represented as being about one thirty-second of an inch lower than the air or steam outlet g. The

special advantages of this arrangement lie in that the escaping steam or air lifts the oil from the oil-chamber by friction and suction and, driving it over the lip it, cuts it into a fine film or sheet of minutely-divided particles, forming an extremely thin vapor, which usually ignites at a line within eight inches IOC of the lip h, fromwhich line the fire-box is completely filled with flame. The oil-outlet is beyond the expansive-fluid outlet, and the orifice g is arranged to discharge the expansive fluid across the oil-outlet 6 approximately in the plane thereof to induce a vacuum therein to draw the oil therethrough, and the expanding fluid will strike the oil which comes to the mouth of the outlet and will thoroughly atomize the same and will carry it forward in a fine thin sheet for producing the flame. In practical use the steam-passage is liable to become obstructed to a greater or less degree by scale-or residuum deposited by the steam, and this deposit Will change the size and shape of the steam-opening, thereby producing a less efficient result. In some instances the deposit in the orifice for the expansive fluid may extend across or partially across the opening, thus breaking the sheet ofsteam,and consequently breaking the vacuum, and any oil which is protected from the action of the steam by such projection will not be properly atomized. To overcome this difficulty, a movable nozzle-piece independent of the oil-outlet is provided to partially close the expansive-fluid orifice for effective operation of the burner and means are provided extending back from the nozzle to operate said nozzle-piece from the rear for opening said orifice for the clearance of any stoppage. When the orifice has been opened-and the ob struction blown out by the steam or air, it will again be closed, thus bringing the orifice to the exact predetermined size and allowing the burner to operate in its most efficient manner. I will now describe the contrivance for accomplishing this result.

The air or steam chamber 0 is open rearwardly of the oil-outlet, as at Z, and a nozzlepiece 1' is hinged by a pin j to the body of the burner to form a closure for the end of the chamber and to leave an opening 9 for escape of expansive fluid from said chamber. A latch is provided for latching the nozzle-piece in place.

70 indicates a latch-piece hinged to the nozzle-piece by means of the pins m. The latch is U-shaped and is pivoted at its ends to the pins m and embraces the sides and rear end of the burner-body. At the rear it is furnished with a set-screw n with set-nut 0 and is screwed against the end of the body of the burner, thus to draw the hinged nozzle-piece 1. tight against the end wall of the expansivefluid chamber to close the outlet of such chamber, except at the narrow crack or nozzle-opening g.

'7 indicates the automatic drain leading from the steam-chamber c of the atomizerbody to drain off the water of condensation from said chamber 0. The drain 7 is controlled by a valve 8, which is held open by a spring 9, except when the steam-pressure is applied. When the steam-pressure is applied, the valve will be forced down to prevent the escape of steam, and when steam-pressure is removed the spring 9 raises the valve 8 to allow any water which may come into the chamber 0 to flow out.

10 indicates a plug in the oil-chamber b, which can be removed for the purpose of cleaning said chamber.

In practical operation either steam or air may be used for atomizing-the oil. In case steam is used for atomizing the oil and any clogging from scale or any other impurities should occur, this can be removed by loosening the set-screw '27, andthrowing down the latch 7r, thus raising the nozzle-piece 't' and turning on steam through the pipe 11, thus readily removing any clogging material, after which the latch will be returned to its normal position. To avoid any danger from explosion, the oil should be shut off before attempting to thus clear the stoppage.

It is desirable that the burner should slant upward forwardly, thus to direct the sheet of expansive fluid and atomized oil up into the fire-box and also to allow the water of condensation to flow back into the drain 7. In order to provide for this, the body a of the atomizer is furnished with an attaching-bar 12, furnished with holes 13 and 14, through which bolts (not shown) will be inserted to bolt the bar to the bottom of the mud-ring. The bar 12 willpreferably have its upper face slightly oblique in a plane converging toward the outlet of the burner, so that when said bar 12 is brought against the under face of the mud-ring in level position the burner will slope upwardly to throw the oil upward and forward, as required.

In practical use there is no possibility of clogging. The outlet for the fuel is always widely open and free. The amount of fuel atomized is regulated by the pressure of air or steam flowing across the fuel-outlet, and thereby producing a vacuum tendency to draw the fuel from the outlet, also by regu lating the amount of fuel delivered to the outlet.

It is to be noted that the outlets for both the fuel and the air or steam are both of fixed size and are not subject to regulation, and therefore the regulation of the fire is simple and certain.

It is to be understood that in order to cleanse the steam-outlet it is only necessary to throw the latch 70 down a short distance, thus opening the mouth of the outlet sufficiently to release the scale or other impurities and allow them to be blown out by the steam.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-- 1. Ahydrocarbon-burner furnished with an oil-outlet with an orifice to discharge an expansive fluid across said outlet approximately in the plane thereof toinduce avacuum therein to draw the oil therethrough and to strike said oil and thoroughly atomize the same; a movable nozzle-piece independent of the oiloutlet to partially close said orifice for effective operation of the burner; and means extending rearwardly from the nozzle for operating said nozzle-piece from the rear.

2. In a hydrocarbon-burner, the combination of a body furnished with two chambers for oil and an expansive fluid, respectively, one of the chambers being furnished with an inlet and with a nozzle for oil and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet and open rearwardly of the oil-outlet;a nozzlepiece to form a closure for the end of said chamber and to leave an opening for the escape of expansive fluid from said chamber; and means extending rearwardly from the nozzle for operating said nozzle-piece.

3. In a hydrocarbon-burner, the combination of a body furnished with two superposed chambers for oil and an expansive fluid respectively, one of the chambers being furnished with an inlet and with a nozzle for oil, and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet and being open rearwardly of the oil-outlet; a nozzle-piece hinged to the body of the burner to form a closure for the end of said chamber and to leave an opening for the escape of expansive fluid from said chamber; and means for holding the nozzle-piece in its H closed position.

4. Ina hydrocarbon-burner, the combination of a body furnished with two superposed chambers for oil and an expansive fluid respectively, oneof the chambers being furnished with an inlet and with a nozzle for oil, and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet and being open rearwardly of the oiloutlet; a nozzle-piece hinged to the body of the burner to form a closure for the end of said chamber and to leave an opening for the escape of expansive fluid from said chamber; and a latch for latching the nozzle-piece in its closed position.

5. In a hydrocarbon-burner, the combination of a body furnished with two superposed chambers for oil and an expansive fluid respectively, one of the chambers being furnished with an inlet and with a nozzle for oil,

and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet and being open rearwardly of the oiloutlet; a nozzle-piece hinged to the body of the burner to form a closure for the end of said chamber and to leave an opening for the escape of expansive fluid from said chamber; a latch-piece hinged to the nozzle-piece and extending rearwardly to the rear end. of the body; and a set-screw screwed through said latch-piece and engaging the body to draw the nozzle-piece firmly into position.

' 6. Ahydrocarbon-burnercomprisingabody furnished with superposed chambers for oil and an expansive fluid, respectively, one of the chambers being furnished with an inlet and with a nozzle for oil, and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet and. with a nozzle for an expansive fluid, and a burnerbody support, integral with the burner-body, the upper face of which lies at an angle converging forwardly toward the floor of the expansive-fluid chamber, substantially as set forth.

7. In a hydrocarbon-burner, the combination of a body furnished with two chambers for oil and an expansive fluid, respectively, one of the chambers being furnished with an inlet and with a nozzle for oil, and the other chamber being furnished with an inlet and being open rearwardly of the oil-outlet; a nozzle-piece hinged to the body of the burner to form a closure for the end of said chamber and to leave an opening for the escape of expansive fluid from said chamber; and means for operating the nozzle-piece to open and close the same.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, at Los Angeles, California, this 10th day of April, 1901.

WILLIAM NEWTON BEST.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND,

JULIA TOWNSEND. 

